A SOCIO-TECHNICAL PRIMER ON AQUAPONIC … socio technical... · The main advantages of Aquaponics over competing ... "Recirculating Farms: Myths and Facts", by Recirculating Farms

Slide 1 of 50Presentation at:

Presentation by:International Congress on Urban Green Spaces, Delhi

Dr. Subhrankar Mukherjee – Secretary, Society for Appropriate Rural Technology for Sustainability (ARTS)Date: 5th March 2012

CASE STUDIESTYPES OF AP NETWORKS URBAN AGRI PEDAGOGYINTRODUCTION BUILD AP

New Delhi, INDIA - 5th to 7th March, 2012

A SOCIO-TECHNICAL PRIMER

ON

AQUAPONIC SYSTEMS

Subhrankar Mukherjee PhD,MBA

Managing Trustee, SANKALPA TRUST, Calcutta, IndiaSecretary, Society for Appropriate Rural Technology for Sustainability (ARTS)Affiliate Professor, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, USAMobile: +91 93392 59812 E-mail: [email protected]: [www.sankalpacmfs.org/src] [email protected]

Date: 5th March 2012

Presentation by:

International Congress on Urban Green Spaces





.

AQUAPONICS

Grown organically in a soil-less medium

Tilapia FishTilapia Fish Spinach OnionsSpinach Onions

Papaya Papaya TomatoesTomatoes

The Aquaponic SystemThe Aquaponic System

INTRODUCTION

For more details on aquaponic systems, please download a conceptFor more details on aquaponic systems, please download a concept note atnote at: : [[http://www.sankalpacmfs.org/src/wp/Concept.Note_Aquaponic.Systemhttp://www.sankalpacmfs.org/src/wp/Concept.Note_Aquaponic.Systems.pdfs.pdf] ]





Aquaponics (AP) is the combination of aquaculture (fish farming) and hydroponics (soil-less plant culture).

AP is the cultivation of fish and vegetables/plants together in a constructed, re-circulating ecosystem utilizing natural bacterial cycles to convert fish wastes to plant nutrients, as shown in the schematic.

.

WHAT

IS

AP

INTRODUCTION

The water flows from the fish tank through a treatment process and is then returned to the fish tank.

Environmentally-friendly, natural food growing method using best attributes of aquaculture and hydroponics without the need to discard any water or filtrate or add chemical fertilizers





.

In aquaponic systems, the nutrient-rich water that results from raising fish provides a source of natural fertilizer for the growing plants. As the plants consume the nutrients, they help to purify the water that the fish live in. This creates a sustainable ecosystem where both plants and fish can thrive,

• Using less water and space, • Producing no waste water and pollutants compared to

conventional methods, while • Using semi-skilled and local labor for production, • Resulting in creation of sustainable livelihoods.

INTRODUCTION

WHAT

IS

AP





.

One of earliest, large-scale re-circulating aquaponic implementations, shown in the image above, was made by Dr. James Rakocy at the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) in St. Croix, as long ago as 1970.

INTRODUCTION

WHAT

IS

AP





ADVANTAGES

1. Water Reuse:

• Aquaponic systems are completely contained systems that reuse most of the water from the fish holding tanks.

• Wastes are removed, water is treated and recycled back to the tanks.

• Water loss during waste removal/evaporation is typically 1-1.5% of the total volume of water.

The main advantages of Aquaponics over competing technologies for fish and vegetable growth are:

INTRODUCTION





2. Space and Production Efficiency:

a) The productivity is higher than conventional aquaculture, while allowing for optimal year-round growth.

b) Market-sized fish can be produced in 9 months compared to 15-18 months in conventional fish farms.*

c) For example, it takes 197.6 acres of open ponds to produce the same amount of shrimp that an aquaponic farm can raise on just 6.1 acres of land!*

ADVANTAGES

INTRODUCTION

* "Recirculating Farms: Myths and Facts", by Recirculating Farms Coalition; Fact Sheet; July 2011





3. Biosecurity:Aquaponic fish farms are fully closed & controlled. They operate without any inputs of chemicals, drugs or antibiotics, and are therefore biosecure—as diseases and parasites cannot get into the system. This ensures a more natural product for consumers. AP systems can be:

a) Located within urban communities that will use the fish, rather than by natural water sources like oceans or rivers, thus having a smaller carbon footprint due to reduced transportation requirements; and

b) Need not be located on water supply systems or for drainage requirements.

ADVANTAGES

INTRODUCTION





4. Aquaponic is Organic :As long as it is ensured that the fish food is organic, the fish and vegetables produced using aquaponic technologies can therefore be classified as organic products.

5. Aquaponic farms are ecologically sustainable:Aquaponic farm can produce, for example, the same amount of lettuce as traditional agriculture using half the amount of water, plus producing fish.

6. Aquaponic farms are more efficient than other forms of fish farming:Provide better quality products with higher growth rates, diverserevenue streams, scalability, array of products and flexibility of location.

ADVANTAGES

INTRODUCTION





ADVANTAGES

ADVANTAGES OF AQUAPONIC SYSTEMSThe problems with traditional: The advantages of Soil-based Gardening Hydroponics Intensive Aquaculture Aquaponic systems

• Weeds;

• Relatively large amounts of water required, at regular intervals;

• Knowledge required to know when to water, when and how to fertilize, and what is the composition of the soil;

• Heavy digging, the bending, the back strain;

• Presence of soil-borne insects;

• Pests.

• Relies on the careful application of expensive, man-made nutrients made from mixing together a concoction of chemicals, salts and trace elements;

• The strength of this mixture needs to be carefully and constantly monitored, along with pH values, using expensive meters;

• Water in hydroponic systems needs to be discharged periodically, as the salts and chemicals build up in the water which becomes toxic to the plants. This is both inconvenient and problematic;

• Prone to a disease called “pythium” or root rot.

• The tank water becomes polluted with fish effluent which gives off high concentrations of ammonia.

• Because of this unhealthy environment fish are prone to disease and are often treated with medicines, including antibiotics.

• Water has to be discharged at a rate of 10-20% of the total volume in the tank daily. This uses a tremendous amount of water.

• This polluted water is often pumped into open streams where it pollutes and destroys waterways.

• Give fish inexpensive fish feed, food scraps, and food that you grow yourself.

• We need to carefully monitor the aquaponic system during the first month, but once the system is established, we only need to check pH and ammonia levels occasionally, or if plants or fish seem stressed.

• We NEVER replace the water; we only need to top it off as it evaporates.

• “Pythium” is virtually non-existent in aquaponic systems.

• Fish disease is rare in an aquaponic system.

ADVANTAGES OF AQUAPONIC SYSTEMS

INTRODUCTION





1. Raft system:

In a raft system (also known as float, deep channel and deep flow) the plants are grown on Styrofoam boards (rafts) that float on top of water.

Water flows continuously from the fish tank, through filtration components, through the raft tank where the plants are grown andthen back to the fish tank.

TYPES

OF

AP

TYPES OF AP





2. Media-filled bed

A tank or container is filled with gravel, perlite or other media for the plant bed. This bed is periodically flooded with water from the fish tank. The water then drains back to the fish tank.

This method uses the fewest components and no additional filtration, making it simple to operate. The production is, however, much lower than the two other methods described here. The media-filled bed is often used for hobby applications where maximizingproduction is not a goal.

TYPES

OF

AP

TYPES OF AP

VerticalTower

Horizontal Growbed





3. Nutrient Film Technique

(NFT)

NFT is a method in which the plants are grown in long narrow channels. A thin film of water continuously flows down each channel, providing the plant roots with water, nutrients and oxygen, as shown in the schematic.

TYPES

OF

AP

TYPES OF AP





CASE

STUDY

CASE STUDIES

CASE

STUDY

Mr. Anir Chanda’s roof-top URBAGROW at Kolkata [www.urbagrow.com]




CASE STUDIESTYPES OF AP NETWORKS URBAN AGRI PEDAGOGYINTRODUCTION BUILD APCASE STUDIES

ELEGANT FISH TANKS AND VEGETABLE GROW-BED CONFIGURATIONS FROM A DOMESTIC AQUAPON ENTHUSIAST IN JAPAN.





SEAWEEDS

CASE STUDIES

"Most people do not realize that seaweed and shellfish, not fin fish, are by far the biggest elements of the world's marine aquaculture industry“ -- says Dr. Amir Neori, a senior scientist at the National Centre for Mariculture at Eilat, Israel

• Edible seaweed can be grown for sale in six weeks, instead of six months for fin fish and crustaceans, and upto six years for abalone.

• Cash crops of seaweed can be grown in conjunction with fin fish farming, with the uptake of organic wastes that would otherwise pollute water, as seaweed's role -- nature's nutrient capture system.

• Every ton of fin fish waste could produce upto seven tons of plant materials such as lettuce in fresh water Aquaponics and edible seaweed in salt water Aquaponics.

• Seaweeds produce the most valuable omega-3 oil, vital for human health.

• Aquaponic farms in future will be based on seaweed production, as it makes economic, environmental and human health sense.

Aquaponics Journal [www.aquaponicsjournal.com]; Issue # 36; 1st Quarter, 2005





HIGHL IGHTS#1

CASE STUDIES

• 5,000 kg of fish per year; at Rs.100/kg, this translates to Rs.5 Lakhs per year;

• 37,800 heads of lettuce with the estimated weight of 0.65 pounds per head, which equals to 24,570 pounds (or 11,168 kg) of lettuce per year; at Rs.40/kg, this translates to Rs. 4.5 Lakhs per year. ….This implies that:

• The direct economic value of aquaponic products comprising 5,000 kg of tilapia and 11,168 kg of lettuce totals to about Rs.9.5 Lakhs per year.

• [Facility Cost:Annual Sales Revenue] ratio is [Rs.14 Lakhs/Rs.9.5 Lakhs] = 1.5.

• Large commercial operations require one full-time, semi-skilled employee per 1,000 m2 of enclosed space; for each 4,000 m2 of enclosed space, an extra full-time person is required to help with the fish and plant harvesting. There are NO special skills required to operate any facet of the aquaponic systems.

• The payback/break-even point from commercial aquaponic projects should be less than two years.

Aquaponics Journal [www.aquaponicsjournal.com]; Issue # 36; 1st Quarter, 2005

The AP system at UVI, which could cost about Rs.14 Lakhs (India estimates), uses 187,775 gallons (or 710,803 liters) of water annually, to produce about:





HIGHL IGHTS#2

CASE STUDIES

• Effluents were collected in a sump from which a 1-horsepower in-line pump recirculated the water back to the fish culture tanks at a rate of about 250 L/min.

• The hydroponic component performed as biofilter and effectively managed the water quality.

• Fish production was staggered to harvest one of the four fish tanks at regular intervals when fish attained a minimum weight of 250 grams.

• Out of the total eight harvests in 13 months, net fish production per harvest averaged 33.5 kg/m3 of water with an overall water consumption of 320 L/kg of fish produced along with the production of leaf lettuce at 42 heads/m2 of hydroponic surface area (estimated weight of 0.3 kg per head ≡ 12.4 kg/m2).

• Only 1.4% of the total system water was added daily to compensate the evaporation and transpiration losses.

• A ratio of 56 gm fish feed/m2 of hydroponic surface effectively controlled nutrient buildup in the effluents. However, plant density could be decreased from 42 to 25–30 plants/m2 to produce a better quality lettuce.

Excerpts from an article by Yousef S. Al-Hafedh, Aftab Alam and Mohamed Salaheldin Beltagi, published in Journal Of The World Aquaculture Society; Vol. 39, No. 4; August, 2008





NETWORKS

• Conducting awareness programs and promoting pedagogy in Aquaponics;

• Building a national/international coalition of professionals, students and organizations who can act locally but think globally;

• Design, localize and build models of aquaponic systems for urban and rural environments;

• Impact on state and national government policies for promoting the growth of the Aquaponics industry; and

• Promote Aquaponics in the South Asian/Southeast Asian/global context.

The Indo-American Aquaponics Initiative (IAAI) is a global network and coalition of development professionals and experts in their own fields ofwork, led on the Indian side by Dr. Subhrankar Mukherjee (Secretary, ARTS) and on the American side by Mr. James Godsil (co-founder SWO & Sweet Water Foundation). [http://www.sankalpacmfs.org/cmfs/01coa/aquaponic/iaai.html]

IAAI aims to make Aquaponics one of the fastest growing economic activities in India within a decade, by:

NETWORKS





The Indo-American Aquaponics Initiative (IAAI) seeks to establish and promote Aquaponics as:

(a) A paradigm shift in the way fish and vegetables are traditionally grown, transported to the markets and points of purchase, and consumed;

(b) An eco-friendly, efficient and effective alternative to the traditionalmethods, which are viewed as neither safe nor economically/ environmentally sustainable, due to excessive use of chemicals and depletion of natural resources, such as land and water.

In the next few slides, we will present some of our international Aquaponic partners, who have agreed to work with us in India.

VISION

NETWORKS





James Godsil was in Delhi in July 2012 as part of the US State Department “American Speakers Program” for India, regarding Innovations in Urban Agriculture & Aquaponics*. He wishes to identify opportunities to advance Aquaponics in India, with its millions of small farmers and urban citizens -- to take advantage of the information and support that the emerging global Aquaponics community of practice has to offer to Indian Aquapons.

PARTNERS

NETWORKS

James Godsil is the co-founder of Milwaukee-based Sweet Water Organics, Inc. and the Sweet Water Foundation; vice-president of SWO and president of SWF, respectively.

* See July/August 2011 issue of SPAN: ‘The Green Revolution’ by Deepanjali Kakati, page 40-43. Also [http://span.state.gov/jul-aug2011/eng/40-43-James-Godsil.html]





SWO

/

SWF

NETWORKS

An abandoned factory building in Milwaukee is now an urban farm that grows vegetables and breeds fish through Aquaponic systems





Message from Nate StoreyPARTNERS

NETWORKS

I am writing this letter to express strong support for Dr. SubhrankarMukherjee as he advocates the use of aquaponics in urban environments for food security, energy efficiency and economic development. Dr. Mukherjee has demonstrated a great deal of expertise and enthusiasm in moving this technology forward and has a great deal to offer this growing movement.

Aquaponic production has a great deal of potential for high density food production for diet supplementation, and simplifies many of the problems experienced in traditional hydroponic vegetable production. Almost any crop can be cultured in aquaponic systems and once established, systems can be very productive and simple to operate. For this reason aloneaquaponic production has a great deal of potential to improve the lives of many Indians- especially in urban environments.

… In addition to these potential benefits, the potential production density of aquaponic systems make them ideal for confined spaces and operations where space is valuable or limited.Small aquaponic systems operating on rooftops or exposed walls of buildings have potential to supplement the diets of theoperators and potentially produce enough excess vegetables to sell at market, supplementing budgets as well as diets.

The productivity of aquaponic systems can be further increased by using vertical production technology. By using single face production towers, productivity can typically be doubled to quadrupled, resulting in more efficient production and allowing the cultivation of unused urban surfaces, like walls and the sides of buildings.

… I am excited to hear about Dr. Mukherjee’sopportunity to speak at the Congress on Urban Green Spaces. I think that he will have a great deal of valuable information, insights and visions of a green, clean future for urban agricultural enterprise.

Sincerely,Nate StoreyPhD Candidate/ResearcherUniversity of WyomingDepartment of Plant SciencesInventor of Single Face Hydroponic Towers & Production Methods




CASE STUDIESTYPES OF AP NETWORKS URBAN AGRI PEDAGOGYINTRODUCTION BUILD APNETWORKS

Traditional AP is Horizontal

Vertical AP with ZipGrow towers is more productive

Nate

Storey





Nate

Storey

How it Works:

•• Towers fit to a Towers fit to a table for table for plantingplanting

•• Plants must Plants must only be grown only be grown on a single faceon a single face

Special media has high specific Special media has high specific surface area (SSA; ftsurface area (SSA; ft22 ftft--33) that ) that allows high microbial activityallows high microbial activity





Nate

Storey

How it Works:How it Works:

•• After towers After towers are planted are planted they are hung they are hung over a tank or over a tank or troughtrough

•• Hung on bars Hung on bars or mounted or mounted on wallson walls

•• Irrigated with Irrigated with waste water waste water from from aquacultureaquaculture





Nate

Storey

Productivity of ZipGrow AP(kg m-2; 5 weeks of production)





Nate

Storey

Some Comparisons for Genovese Basil

TechniqueProduction

(kg m-2) Production Period

For Comparison: kg m-2 week-1 Study

ZipGrowAquaponic 9.4 5 weeks post-transplant 1.88 Storey, 2010

Raft Aquaponic 13.0 - 42.0 52 weeks post-transplant 0.25 - 0.81Savidov et al.,

2007Raft Aquaponic 23.4 - 25.0 52 weeks post-transplant 0.45 - 0.48 Rakocy et al. 2004

Hydroponic Media Bed 6.26 5.7 weeks post-transplant 1.1

Bradley and Marulanda, 2001

Raft Hydroponic-High Density (Microgreens)

2.6 - 3.6(25-50 plants ft-2)

6.5 weeks from seed(1.5 weeks post 5 wk. est.

period)0.4 - 0.55(1.7-2.4) Micheli et al., 2003

VertigroGreenhouse Hydroponic 16.6 48 weeks post-transplant 0.35

Stapleton and Hochmuth, 2001

Vertigro Field Hydroponic 6.2 - 7.1 15 weeks post-transplant 0.41 - 0.47

Hochmuth and Leon, 1999

Field Production 7.8 52 weeks post-transplant 0.15 Rakocy et al., 2004Intensive Field

Production 2.5 7 weeks post-transplant 0.36Sifola and Barbieri,

2006





To Whom It May ConcernI strongly support and advocate the use of Aquaponics as a majoragriculture tool to help eradicate the world hunger epidemic. To that extent, Dr. Subhrankar Mukherjee has my full support in helping spread the introduction of Aquaponics in Bharat, my Motherland. I am sending him a brief extract of my Aquaponics workshop training slides so as to give the audience a glimpse into the possibilities of incorporating Aquaponics in the fight against world hunger.For more details, please visit [www.Sahibaquaponics.com]

Support Statement for Aquaponics work being highlighted by Dr. Subhrankar Mukherjee

My birth name is Pardeep Kumar Vedi and I am an NRI living in USA …In the world of Aquaponics, I go by the name Sahib Punjabi.

These are the types of systems that Tim Mann was referring to when he wrote… “Sahib is dedicated to “feeding the villages” of the world, these are his words for teaching the poorest people in the world how to feed themselves using Aquaponics. He is developing Aquaponics systems in Winter Park, Florida, that are the prototypes for affordable systems that will be appropriate for economically disadvantaged and developing nations.”

PARDEEP VEDI a.k.a.Sahib Punjabi

Hybrid Aquaponics system is what Sahib recommends.





Ni trogen

Cycle

NETWORKS

“THE CYCLE OF LIFE”

Source: www.backyardaquaponics.com





Susanne Friend

FRIENDLY AQUAPONICS

Tim Mann

PARTNERS

NETWORKS

Susanne Friend is the founder, owner and director of Friendly Aquaponics, reportedly the first commercial aquaponic venture to achieve both food safety and organic certification.

Along with husband Tim, Susanne has a passion for dismantling the industrialization of our food supply chain.

Tim Mann is the technology side of the highly successful Friendly Aquaponics commercial operation.

He value engineered the current UVI system and is also engaged in a Biogas project that will power part of the farms electrical needs.





Sylvia Bernstein of THE AQUAPONIC SOURCEPARTNERS

NETWORKS

Sylvia is the president of The Aquaponic Source and she runs theAquaponic Gardening Community.

She is also the author of “Aquaponic Gardening: A Step by Step Guide to Growing Fish and Vegetables Together” which has been recently released. This book would be very useful as a pedagogical reference for all practitioners of Aquaponics.





IUSSTF

NETWORKS

Proposal for ‘Indo-US Bilateral Workshop’, submitted to:INDO-U.S. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FORUM (IUSSTF)

Title of Activity:Seminar & Workshop on Design and Implementation of Aquaponics Systems

US Institution:University of WyomingLaramie, Wyoming, USA.PI: Mr. Nathaniel R. Storey

Indian Institution:Society for Appropriate Rural Technology for Sustainability (ARTS), Kolkata, IndiaPI: Dr. Subhrankar Mukherjee

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: We propose to conduct a two-day ‘Seminar and Workshop’ on Aquaponic Systems at the American Center in Kolkata, which will address the information and implementation requirements of urban and rural communities, followed by a visit to local implementations of aquaponic and aquaculture systems. The budget for this seminar and workshop project is estimated to be US$ 41,027





AQUAMON

NETWORKS

AQUAPONIC MONITORING SYSTEMS (AQUAMON) monitors the aquaponic environment for proper growth of the fish and the plant. They are: (a) Reliable; (b) Accurate; (c) Round the clock; (d) State of the art; (e) Web based; and (f) Cheaper than competitors.

• Developed completely in India by students from reputed institutions• VERSION 1 will tentatively be released by end June 2012.

Version 1 monitors:Temperature, total NH3 & NO2, alkalinity - pH, hardness & carbon dioxide in the water.

Version 2 features:Dissolved OxygenSmartphone capability

AQUAMON Presentation by:Sankalpa Student ChapterPrepared by: Arnab Mondal, Arghya Sur, Abhishek Bhattacharyya





AQUAMON

NETWORKS

AQUAMON Hardware:

pH Sensor(DD011)

Microcontroller

Temperature Sensor (DS18B20)CO2 Sensor (YSI 8500 )

Ammonia & Nitrogen sensors.AQUAMON Software:These components will be integrated into one package, so that the Aquaponic system can be monitored continuously.Monitored data are stored in a database and can be displayed through a website. Users simply need to log in to access the data.

AQUAMON Presentation by:Sankalpa Student ChapterPrepared by: Arnab Mondal, Arghya Sur, Abhishek Bhattacharyya





URBAN

AGRI

Urban agriculture relates to:

• Agricultural production (crops and livestock) in urban and peri-urban areas for food and other uses,

• The related transport, processing and marketing of the agricultural produce, and

• Non-agricultural services provided by the urban farmers (water storage, agrotourism, urban greening and landscape management, and others)

URBAN AGRI





SUSTAINABILITY

URBAN AGRI

Food Production Scenarios: Two possible future food paradigms

Case for urban agriculture as an essential element of sustainable urban infrastructure

Citizen-led with goals of equity (public health)

Aimed at global consumer market dominance

Geared towards fresh natural cropsGeared towards designer foods

Organic production dominantAn industrial scale application of biotechnology

Producers and local retailers dominateFood retailers who dominate supply

Part of an intensive ecological modelInput intensive

LocalHighly centralized

Energy efficient (using natural energy systems)

Energy intensive

Likely to be:Likely to be:

THE ECOLOGICALLY INTEGRATED PARADIGM

THE “LIFE SCIENCES”INTEGRATED PARADIGM





URBAN

AGRI

URBAN AGRI

By Ir. Henk de Zeeuw, Coordinator—Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food Security (RUAF); ETC Foundation; Leusden, the Netherlands.





IMPACT

URBAN AGRI

Urban agriculture has a positive impact on the:• Greening of the city • Improvement of the urban micro-climate (wind breaks, dust

reduction, shade, sequestration of CO2 and other pollutants), and • Conservation of soil, water, biodiversity and the cultural landscape.

Cities in areas with higher rainfall often use the agricultural areas in and around the city as buffer and water storage facility.

By producing fresh foods close to the urban consumers, urban agriculture contributes to the reduction of the:

• Ecological foot print of the city; and • Energy consumption in transport, cooling and packaging of food

produced in areas further away.THERE IS A GREAT NEED FOR PROTOTYPES & POLICIES





TO DEFINE TO DEFINE ‘‘UAUA’’ POLICIES, WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE RELATIONSHIP OF POLICIES, WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE RELATIONSHIP OF URBAN FOOD CHARACTERISTICS WITH RELEVANT SOCIAL FACTORSURBAN FOOD CHARACTERISTICS WITH RELEVANT SOCIAL FACTORS





POLICY

ISSUES

FoodCharacteristics• Growing• Trading• Spaces• Eating

Relevant Social Factors

• Environmental• Economic• Spatial• Social

Policy Issues:• Socio-Technical• Socio-Economic• Socio-Cultural









HOLISTIC

.

The conjoint processes of

• Biomethanation of agricultural/ livestock/biomass waste;

• Growth of Spirulina, the ‘Super Food’;

• Vermicomposting; &

• Aquaponicshas the potential of becoming the centerpiece of sustainable urban and especially village-based community development, as the waste of one process become an input material for the other.

URBAN AGRI

Image: SANKALPA/ARTS





SPIRULINA

.

SPIRULINA AS FISH FEED.

Spirulina a blue-green algae, is known for its positive probiotichealth effects in animals, humans and fish alike. It is commonlyfed to fresh and salt water fish and results in healthier fish with a higher resistance to infection and illness.

Experts recommend a mixed diet of spirulina and fish flakes or brine shrimp.

At ARTS, we have undertaken research and development of Spirulina in both, village and urban environments.

For more information, please visit our spirulina website at: [http://www.sankalpacmfs.org/src/01liv/01liv.html#8] or download [http://www.sankalpacmfs.org/src/wp/Spirulina_1page.flyer.pdf].

URBAN AGRI




CASE STUDIESTYPES OF AP NETWORKS URBAN AGRI PEDAGOGYINTRODUCTION BUILD APPEDAGOGY

Strategic Plan for Pedagogy:• Educate students about global environmental issues while engaging and

empowering them to create localized solutions.

• Expose students to ‘critical pedagogy’ & ‘real-world teaching experiences’.

Critical Pedagogical Values:• Reciprocation of teaching and learning: Having the courage to teach

ourselves and the modesty to learn from ourselves.

• Problem-based learning: Explore real world solutions through an interdisciplinary and collaborative lens.

• Place-based education: Use of local environment and community to connect students to the real world, in which solutions are applied through collaborative effort.

• Transformative education: Knowledge is generated by students to improve themselves and their society; Learning is grounded in action that benefits the community beyond the classroom.

PEDAGOGY




CASE STUDIESTYPES OF AP NETWORKS URBAN AGRI PEDAGOGYINTRODUCTION BUILD APPEDAGOGY





HOW

TO

BUILD

HOW TO BUILD A DOMESTIC 3 SQ.FT AQUAPONIC SYSTEMRaft

19-1/2” by 26.5”, or to fit your trough; for the

floating bed where the plants grow

Trough

Solid plastic container 19.75” wide by 27.5”long by 6” deep; for

growing plants in

Water pump and Air pump

(Not shown).

Planted out. The fish live in the water in the tank below, with a small pump to circulate water and a few air stones. It is simple, easy to build, and very affordable!

Fish Tank:

One 40-liter plastic container in good condition (no holes on the inside) that has never had toxic substances inside it.

BUILD AP

Image: FRIENDLY AQUAPONICS





HOW

TO

BUILD

#1 and #2: Hooking the intake tube into the bottom of the growing trough. NOTE! You do NOT have to use a plant growing trough like this one. Any tub would do.

#3 and #4: Hooking the water line into the pump (make sure you’ve got your water flow going the right way!)

#5:Hooking in the short piece of PVC pipe that will drop the water back down into the cooler/fish tank.

STEPS 1 THROUGH 5Image: FRIENDLY AQUAPONICS





HOW

TO

BUILD

#6: Shows the whole system, ready to add fish, and #7 shows the mosquito fish going into the cooler/fish tank.

#8 shows the inflow standpipe filling the plant growing troughs, with the plants ready to float on the top of the trough.

#9 shows the standpipe almost finished filling the trough, and #10 shows the entire system, planted and ready to begin growing food!

STEPS 6 THROUGH 10

Image: FRIENDLY AQUAPONICS





CONCLUSION

.

Aquaponic systems are not only eco-friendly,

sustainable, provide food security and create

sustainable livelihoods, but they are also

commercially feasible and make good

business sense—especially in a world of

dwindling and escalating costs of natural

resources, such as land and water.





Documents

A SOCIO-TECHNICAL PRIMER ON AQUAPONIC … socio technical... · The main advantages of Aquaponics over competing ... "Recirculating Farms: Myths and Facts", by Recirculating Farms